30 inspirational individuals from across the UK who have the drive,
determination and an idea to effect change in their communities have
been awarded funding to establish a fellowship of nationwide projects
which tackle the issues faced by an ageing society from UnLtd, the
foundation for social entrepreneurs. As the country’s population
continues to grow older, the Award Winners will be challenging the
concept of ageing, which includes a 91-year old fashion model from
Redbridge in London, memory boxes for dementia sufferers in Cornwall and
pigeon-fanciers for intergenerational workshops in Birmingham.

Other Award Winners include Rhiannon Lane and Katy Hirst from Bright
Shadow in Kent, who take young performance artists into residential care
home settings to engage residents through creative performance
activities; Chris Davies from Gloucestershire will be establishing a Tae
Kwon Do club for over 50s, the project will provide a safe space where
individuals can participate in an activity that will build their
confidence, strength and wellbeing; and Chris Hind from Crewe will be
growing a network of retired and unemployed business people over the age
of 50 in Liverpool and Manchester, to provide expert advice and
practical business development support for social enterprises and
charities across the North West on a pro bono or interim basis.

Katie Cohen, UnLtd Engage Programme Lead said, “All these individuals
have one thing in common; they all want to make the lives better of a
population living longer. UnLtd Engage aims to provide these
inspirational people with not only the funding to establish and grow
projects, but the practical support via a dedicated Development Manager
to help them navigate their new venture, networking and mentoring
opportunities. It’s essential that we start to change perceptions and
quality of life of older people across the UK and make a positive
impact.”

Andrew Barnett, Director of Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation UK said,
“In the last 80 years life expectancy in the UK has increased by almost
20 years on average. The way that we plan and live our later lives –
socially and financially – will have a major impact on how we adjust to
this demographic change. The UnLtd Engage programme offers awardees the
prospect of creating sustainable initiatives that consider and respond
to the opportunities of an ageing society, but also provide valuable
financial return.”

The UnLtd Engage Awards programme in partnership with the Calouste
Gulbenkian Foundation hosted a celebration event for the successful
individuals and included key-note speeches from Professor Heinz Wolff,
who features in his own PC, DS and Wii game, on the new older
generation; and Michael Norton OBE a social innovator who is currently
launching an online platform to enable crowd funding of social ventures.

UnLtd Engage has awarded 30 Catalyst Awards as part of its first
phase; three of those individuals with sustainable social ventures will
receive a further Award of up to £15,000 with which to scale up under
the programme’s second phase. More information on the Award Winners and
the programme itself can be found at www.unltd.org.uk/engage

UnLtd is the leading provider of support to social entrepreneurs in
the UK and offers the largest such network in the world. UnLtd resources
over 1,000 individuals each year through its core Awards programme.
UnLtd operates a unique model by investing directly in individuals and
offering a complete package of resources; from awards of funding between
£500 and £15,000 to ongoing advice, networking and practical support.

UnLtd supports individuals who have their ventures firmly rooted in
delivering positive social change. The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor
(Harding and Harding 2008) found that there were 1.7m people leading
social organisations in the UK, 238,000 trying to start one, and that
35% of all nascent (early stage) entrepreneurs were starting with social
ventures.

• UnLtd Ventures - provides long term specialist support to a number of outstanding entrepreneurs

• UnLtd Research - leads on inspiring and informing action, policy and social change

• UnLtd Connect - brings together experienced professionals able to offer pro-bono support and those who are growing social ventures

• UnLtd Advantage - is the premier investment readiness programme for social entrepreneurs and those investing in them

• Live UnLtd - is transforming how society views young people and how young people view themselves

• UnLtdWorld.com - connects you to the people, tools and information you need to change the world

For more information about the support offered by UnLtd, please visit: www.UnLtd.org.uk

The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation is an international charitable
foundation with cultural, educational and social interests. Based in
Lisbon with branches in London and Paris, the Foundation is in a
privileged position to support transnational work tackling contemporary
issues in Europe. The purpose of the UK branch in London is to connect
and enrich the experiences of individuals, families and communities with
a special interest in supporting those who ate most disadvantaged.

In 2008, the Foundation launched an initiative on ageing and social
cohesion, with a number of activities developed with colleagues in
Lisbon. This partnership represents the latest development of a wide
portfolio of work which we hope will contribute to a growing
understanding of the impact of demographic ageing to our society. For
more information about the work of Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in the
UK please visit www.gulbenkian.org.uk